2024 Fall Workshop Concurrent Sessions 1

October 31, 2024 | 9:50 - 10:40 AM

Accounting Track 1  |  Concurrent Session 1A  |  Concurrent Session 1B
Concurrent Session 1C  |  Concurrent Session 1D

Accounting Track 1: Now We're Cooking - GASB 100 and Beyond

Description 

In this session we will discuss recently issued GASB's 100-103 as well as other projects GASB is working on. In addition, we will discuss how to build an implementation roadmap for your college or university that utilizes GASB's assessed level of effort, industry/entity specific impact, and availability of government resources.

Learning Objectives

  1. Assess how GASB's 100-103 will impact your government
  2. Identify ongoing GASB projects
  3. Understand how to build a framework for creating your government's implementation roadmap

Speakers

Danny Martinez, Managing Director, Cherry Bekaert

Danny is a licensed CPA who provides advisory and training services to a wide range of governmental entities, including municipalities and their component units, counties, school districts, public universities, special districts, tribal governments, airports, ports and hospitals. He has provided technical accounting assistance to some of the largest cities and counties in the country. As the leader of the Government and Public Sector Accounting Advisory group, he is responsible for the quality and growth of the firm’s GASB-as-a-Service, ACFR writing, and Surge Team accounting advisory services. Under his leadership Cherry Bekaert has experienced significant growth in these services and achieves high client satisfaction and retention scores. He presents on various governmental industry and accounting topics at national and regional conferences, including the future of the governmental accounting workforce, GASB standard updates, and internal control and grants management best practices.Danny is the past Zone 3 (GASB) Chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Technical Issues Committee, a group that provides a voice for its constituents in the standard-setting process. In addition, Danny is a founding member of the firm’s Government Standards Outlook Committee, a group of technical leaders in the firm that keep abreast of all upcoming GASB, OMB, and AICPA changes and provides comment letters to those standard setting bodies.

Concurrent Session 1A: Strategic Resource Resurgence: Embracing the Phoenix Philosophy

Description 

Leadership at the University of Florida faced the challenge of re-evaluating long-standing commitments so that we could prioritize future strategic initiatives. Higher education often struggles with the inertia of historical investments, where decisions are justified by tradition rather than impact. In an era of heightened scrutiny and limited resources, it is imperative for financial leaders to question the status quo and ensure investments align with relevant, high-impact programs.Our interactive session will delve into the journey undertaken at the University of Florida, where we initiated rigorous scrutiny of existing investments. We will share the process of reallocating funds, transforming our strategic funding approach, and ensuring sustained success for future initiatives. This session will highlight both successes and the lessons learned from initial setbacks in adopting this transformative mindset.Moreover, we invite participants to share challenges their own campuses are encountering and collaboratively brainstorm solutions and strategies for responsible resource stewardship. Finally, we will distill our presentation into a practical toolkit and action plan, encapsulating our approach (The Phoenix Philosophy) for attendees to implement at their institutions.

Learning Objectives

  1. Identify Barriers to Strategic Resource Reallocation
  2. Implement Strategies for Challenging the Status Quo
  3. Develop Practical Approaches for Institutional Change

Speakers

Taylor Jantz, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, University of Florida

Taylor Jantz serves as the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at the University of Florida. In his role, he oversees a $10 Billion-dollar operating budget inclusive of the university, 11 hospitals, and the university athletics association. In addition, Taylor leads the business services function of the university inclusive of auxiliary operations and university police. Prior to joining UF, Taylor was a Director at Huron Consulting Group where he parented with over 60 institutions in creating sustainable fiscal strategies. Taylor holds a BBA in Economics from Creighton University and a Master’s in Higher Education Administration and Policy from Vanderbilt University. He enjoys cheering on the KC Chiefs and is now an avid Gators fan as well!

Kevin Lintner, Deputy CFO and AVP Enterprise Finance, University of Florida

Kevin Lintner serves as Deputy CFO and AVP for Enterprise Finance and Operations at the University of Florida. His responsibilities include oversight of budgeting, financial planning, business intelligence, and financial risk management functions for the University. In addition, Kevin serves as the primary liaison between UF and UF Health ensuring a coordinated fiscal strategy to achieve enterprise-wide goals. Prior to joining UF, Kevin was a consultant at Huron Consulting Group where he worked with more than three dozen universities, academic medical centers, and health systems on various financial and organizational improvements. Kevin earned his BS in Economics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Concurrent Session 1B: No Session

Concurrent Session 1C: Bridging the Finance Knowledge Gap: Next Generation Financial Training

Description 

With continued labor market challenges, and the desire to retain and train staff some universities are developing strategies directly related to building a culture of learning, developing professional talent from within their institutions, and providing a path for further career development for a next generation workforce. Learn about the approaches of two research institutions in the south and their strategies to develop finance learning resources for finance professionals throughout their schools.

Learning Objectives

  1. Learn how other institutions are able to bridge the financial knowledge gap with online resources, certification programs, user guides, video tutorials and standard operating procedures.
  2. Takeaway key strategies about education for staff and faculty when there is a new technology, process, or system, and specifically how a program of finance training can work university-wide.
  3. Identify different learning resources and incentives such as virtual credentialing that might benefit your institutions and a new generation finance workforce.

Speakers

Mary Peloquin-Dodd, Director, PFM Financial Advisory, LLC

Mary Peloquin-Dodd is a director in the PFM Higher Education Group. Her role at PFM focuses on alternative delivery and public private partnerships (P3), and strategic finance projects for higher education clients. Typical projects include M&A, asset monetization and disposition, real estate/economic development, financial improvement strategies, and workforce organization solutions. Mary comes to PFM from North Carolina State University, where she served for 10.5 years as Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and University Treasurer. At NC State, Mary led all central finance departments for NC State, with a staff of 170 professionals, and was responsible for all asset/liability management including investment management. Prior to North Carolina State University, Mary was a Managing Director at Standard & Poor’s (S&P) in New York for 25 years, where she led bond and credit ratings for higher education and not-for-profit corporations.

Sharon Loosman, Director, Procurement and Business Services, Office of Finance, NC State University

Sharon Loosman is the Chief Procurement Officer and Director of Procurement & Business Services at NC State University, a position she has held since 2011. In this role, Sharon is responsible for multiple operations and program areas, including supplier relationship management, strategic sourcing & procurement, contract administration, eProcurement systems, automated payables solutions, corporate card programs, managed print services, surplus property, and campus warehouse operations. Sharon has development and management responsibilities for 40 staff members. Her teams are constantly seeking to design and implement innovative business process improvements. Sharon participates in various capacities in many professional organizations, including NAEP, NACUBO, SACUBO, HEUG and the Treasury Institute for Higher Education.

Kelli Shomaker, Senior Vice President for Business and Administration and CFO, Auburn University

Ms. Kelli Shomaker is in her ninth year as the Senior Vice President for Business and Administration and Chief Financial Officer at Auburn University. Ms. Shomaker is a seasoned administrator, having spent over twenty-nine years in higher education, including sixteen years at Texas A&M University. Ms. Shomaker oversees financial reporting, budgets, procurement and payments, cash management, debt management, facilities, real estate, human resources, trademark and licensing, and numerous administrative units on campus. Ms. Shomaker received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Texas A&M University, a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from Auburn University and is a Certified Public Accountant. Prior to higher education Ms. Shomaker was the Vice President, Treasurer and Controller for a publicly traded investment company and worked as an auditor for the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Ms. Shomaker serves as a Board member of the Retirement System of Alabama, the Alabama Public Education Employees Health Insurance Plan, and the Treasury Institute of Higher Education.

Concurrent Session 1D: Finding Buried Treasure: Reforming Restricted Gifts to Free Up Unspent Endowment Income

Description 

This presentation will discuss Baylor's efforts to review its restricted endowed gifts to find funds that have not or cannot be spent because the gift had become illegal, impractical or impossible to fulfill. The presentation will go over the process undertaken to review those gift agreements and the legal process to reform the gifts to make them usable again.

Learning Objectives

  1. Learn how to identify unspent restricted gifts.
  2. Learn how to identify restrictions in endowed funds that make them illegal, impractical or impossible to spend.
  3. Work with General Counsel on reforming gift agreements through attorney general or court approval processes.

Speakers

Doug Welch, Associate General Counsel, Baylor University

Doug Welch, JD, CPA, serves as Associate General Counsel, Chief Privacy Officer and HIPAA Privacy Officer at Baylor University, where he has been since December 2006.  His areas of responsibility include Litigation Management, Advancement and Development, Endowments and Investments offices, Real Estate, Data Privacy and Information Technology, Health Care and Contracts. Prior to Baylor, Doug was in private law practice, served as Briefing Attorney for a US District Judge, and prior to law school, worked for 3 years in public accounting with a "Big 8" firm.  He is a 1986 graduate of Baylor with a BBA in Accounting and a 1992 graduate of Texas Tech University School of Law.

Will Simmons, Senior Director of Endowment Programs, Baylor University

Will Simmons, JD, serves as Senior Director of Endowment Programs at Baylor University, where he has been since 2013. His responsibilities include donor relations and stewardship for endowment and other major gift donors, oversight of university gift agreements, and endowment compliance. He is a 2008 graduate of Baylor University with a BA in Political Science and a 2011 graduate of the University of Houston Law Center.